The City of Brass
The City of Brass is the first book in the Daevabad Trilogy series. It introduces Nahri, a young con-woman from Cairo; the Afshin warrior Darayavahoush who whisks her away to the legendary Djinn city; Prince Alizayd who struggles to obey his father while also committing treason; and a swath of other characters in a magical world set in the 18th century. Description Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by --palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing-- are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mystical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass-- a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound. In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries. Spurning Dara's warning of the treachery surrounding her, she embarks on a hesitant friendship with Alizayd, an idealistic prince who dreams of revolutionizing his father's corrupt regime. All too soon, Nahri learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences. After all, there is a reason they say to be careful what you wish for... Plot Publication Reception Editions Daevabad_cityofbrasscoverUS.jpg|Cover art for the US, Hungarian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Russian releases. Daevabad_cityofbrasscoverUK.jpg|Cover art for the UK and other European releases. Daevabad_cityofbrasscoverBG.jpg|Cover art for the Bulgarian release. The City of Brass has been released in Hardcover and Paperback versions, as well as Kindle/e-book, audiobook, and audio cd. The paperback and Kindle versions include exclusive bonus content: * A prologue to The City of Brass (From Muntadhir's point of view; 7 years prior) * A reading group guide (with 10 questions) * An excerpt from The Kingdom of Copper (the first chapter with Ali in the desert) Development Trivia * The book dedication says "For Alia, the light of my life" * The Kingdom of Copper bonus excerpt scene has some differences from the official book's version of that chapter. In addition to some phrasing differences, Bir Nabat is instead "Ain Luhayr," and Ali names the mountain range along Am Gezira as "Um Jubal." External Links * Harper Collins' official page for The City of Brass * The City of Brass on GoodReads.com * The City of Brass on TV Tropes References Category:A to Z